Nisrine Mbarki

Closer to Our Colonial Inheritance

Closer to Our Colonial Inheritance is a series of poetic interventions by writers, poets and spoken word artists to accompany the exhibition Our Colonial Inheritance. Beyond Walls, Read My World & Wereldmuseum invited various writers to draw inspiration from an object or theme of their choice. During a live event, they shared their reflections in an intimate setting, followed by a conversation with those present. Their performances were captured in a series of short films.

Language with Nisrine Mbarki

“History is not in the past
See who you were and who you’ve become
Look at me and see yourself”

Why has Nisrine Mbarki always had mixed feelings about Wereldmuseum Amsterdam? What echoes within the walls of that monumental building? Nisrine drew inspiration from the theme of language for her performance. She explores maps and museum buildings, but ultimately her wide-ranging poem is about the impact and knock-on effects of colonialism on people’s lives today.

Nisrine Mbarki is a writer, poet, columnist and translates poetry from Arabic and English into Dutch. Her poetry debut, published in early 2022, was nominated for the C. Buddingh' Prize.

Onze koloniale erfenis ingericht door kunstenaar Farida Sedoc en met soundscape van Myrtho. FOTO Rick Mandoeng